A lot of people are reporting that their Facebook Ad account has been hacked. This means that either fake charges are being run up on your account or your account is completely taken over. In some cases the hackers may just use your credit card on a different account.
Oooo I do not like hackers.
There are 4 steps you can take to help prevent this from happening but you also want to make sure that it’s not just an older bill that you may not recognize.
In this article, I will share how to prevent your Facebook Ad Account from getting hacked, how to make sure you are getting billed for actual ads that you ran, and how to contact Facebook if there is a problem.
Quick overview on how to prevent your Facebook Ad Account from getting hacked:
- Delete any admins that don’t need access to the Ads Account or Facebook Pages anymore
- Change passwords regularly
- Remove permissions from Business Apps you don’t recognize in the Settings area.
- Add two-factor authorization to your Facebook account.
Now let’s dive into each one to show the steps. Remember that anyone who has access to your Facebook Ads account should also be doing these preventative steps.
#1 Delete Ad Account Admins that don’t need access
Deleting Facebook Admins on your Page and your Ad Account is a good practice. In fact, it’s better NOT to give people full Facebook Admin control for safety purposes. If their account gets hacked, then your Page and Ads account could be at risk.
If you don’t have the Business Manager, you should go to the Account Settings area in the Ad Account: https://www.facebook.com/ads/manager/account_settings/information/
Then remove users.
If you do have Business Manager, go to the people section of the Business Settings area: https://business.facebook.com/settings/people/ and remove the access or you can remove the people completely by clicking on the 3 dots in the upper right and clicking Remove.
You can also remove yourself from a Facebook Business Manager if you are running Facebook Ads for clients and no longer work with that client. That protects you and them.
You can do that under the Business Info section of the Business Settings area: https://business.facebook.com/settings/info
#2 Change Passwords regularly
Yes I know this is a pain but it’s a good thing to do!
#3 Remove Permissions from Business Apps
Watch where you click! Sometimes there can be Facebook Apps that have permissions that you don’t want to give them.
Go through your settings area on your personal Facebook profile and delete any Business Integrations or Apps and Websites that they don’t use or aren’t familiar with!
#4 Add tw0-factor authorization to your Facebook Account
Two-factor authorization means that you have to log in with your phone as well as a password. You can set that up for your Business Manager: https://business.facebook.com/settings/security
Or you can set that up for your personal account so that when you log in from an unrecognized device, you will need to verify the login with a code that is texted to you.
Get more information here: https://www.facebook.com/help/148233965247823
How to check your Facebook Ads Billing
Often times people think they have been “hacked” because they get such a delayed Facebook Ads bill.
Facebook bills in 2 ways:
- Your Billing Account threshold has been reached. For example, if you spend $750 during a 1 week period then you may get a bill.
- A standard monthly bill. For example if you boost a post for $50 in the beginning of the month, you may not get the bill for it until the end of the month.
Before you report that your Facebook Ad Account has been hacked, review your billing section here: https://www.facebook.com/ads/manager/billing/transactions/ and you will see EXACTLY what ads you are being charged for.
Get more information on how Facebook Ads Billing works here: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/524424920973484
A spending cap, while nice to sometimes make sure you don’t spend too much, doesn’t work here because the hackers can remove it.
How to Contact Facebook for Ads Help
Facebook is notoriously hard to get a hold of and almost impossible to get a “live” person unless things have escalated.
Your best bet for quick help is using the Facebook Live Chat if that’s available. You can access that here: https://www.facebook.com/business/help
It may or may not be available for your account and during the hours you are checking. If you only see the Email button, then use that to start but possibly check back during “business hours” to see if the chat is available too.
You can also report the Facebook Billing problem here: https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/649167531904667
I have some additional ways to get Facebook help here: How to Contact Facebook Support for Advertising Help
**Note if your Facebook Ad Account has been hacked, I can’t help with that. I do not work for Facebook and you will have to contact them directly. I typically suggest using multiple methods of contacting them if you aren’t getting a response.
Hopefully these measures will help your Faceboook Ads Account from being hacked! Let me know if you have any other tips or experience in the comments below!
